Ironer roll release



Cd. 14, 1941. J A CASTRICONE 2,259,062

IRONER ROLL RELEAS E Filed Jan. 15, 1938 9 Sheets-Sheet l @7552; Q wizvze 1941- J. A. CASTRICO NE IRONER ROLL RELEASE 9 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 13, 1938 Oct. 14, 1941. cAs c 2,259,062

IRONER ROLL RELEASE Filed Jan. 13, 1938 9 Sheets-Sheet Z Oct. 14, 1941. J. A. CASTRICONE IRONER ROLL RELEASE I Filed Jan. 15, 1938 9 Sheets-Sheet 4 fizaezz 4%] cfo/izz Q 635%7260728 OC 1941- .1. A. CASTRICONE 2,259,062

IRONER ROLL RELEASE Filed Jan. 13, 1938 9 Sheets-Sheet 6 1941- J. A. CASTRICONE IRONER ROLL RELEASE Filed Jan. 13, 1938 9 Sheets-Sheet 7 Oct; 14, 1941. J. CASTRICQNE 2,259,062

IRONER ROLL RELEASE Filed Jan. 13, 1938 9Sheets-Sheet 9 Patented Oct. 14, 1941 IRONER ROLL RELEASE John A. vCastricone, Peoria, 111., assignor to Altorfer Brothers Company, Peoria; 111., a cor:-

poration of Illinois Application January 13, 1938 Serial No. 184,821

11 Claims.

This invention relates to ironing machines, and more particularly to a roll release mechanism for oscillating ironer rolls.

In the present; prevailing practice it is quite common to provide an ironing machine with an ironing bed in the form of a relatively long roll or cylinder adapted to cooperate with a heated ironing shoe and to be rotatably driven by an electric motor operating through any suitable reduction gearing. In some instances, a crank or eccentric is included in the driving connection in such a manner that the ironing roll is caused to oscillate rather than to rotate in order to facilitate the pressing operation on such garments that are not conveniently handled in a constantly rotating machine. When using such a-machine, the operator customarily positions the garment upon the ironing bed or roll with a portion of the garment so positioned as to be en-' gaged and pressed by the ironing shoe. It is then desirable that the operator be able to manually advance the roll in such a manner that other contiguous portions of the garment can be positioned under and pressed by the shoe, without the necessity 'of removing the garment from the-roll.

' In order to accomplish this result means must be provided whereby the roll may be completely disengaged from its oscillating mechanism when the machine comes to a stop, since such mechanisms are by their nature irreversible and if not disengaged serve to lock the roll against rotary movement ,whenever the machine is stopped. Furthermore, to be of any practical value the disengaging mechanism must be automaticallyv operated when the ironing shoe is withdrawn from the roll, since the operator customarily uses both hands in guiding the garments and therefore cannot readily operate any additional manual controls.

It is, therefore, a primary object of this invention-to provide an auxiliary release clutch whereby a movable ironer roll may be automatically disengaged from its power transmission during the idle periods of the machine, and thereby relieved of any locking action or frictional resistance present in the transmission in such a manher that the bed or roll may be free for manual movement by the operator.

Another object is to provide an ironing ma- .chine including a movable ironing roll, an irreversible power transmission means for automatically disengaging the roll from the transmission trol mechanism;

cally reengaging the transmission and the roll as the machine is started. a

Another object is to provide an ironing 'machine having a roll releasing mechanism responsive to and synchronous with the movement of the driving motorcontrol'clutch.

Another object'is to provide an ironing machine having a selective roll. releasing mechanism such that it may be operated either manually or automatically at the will ofthe operator.

Theseand other objects are accomplished in the present-invention, a preferred embodiment of which is illustrated in the drawings forming a part of the specification,- in which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of an ironing machine incorporating a preferred embodiment of the invention; v I

Fig. 2. is an and elevation ofthe right hand end of the ironing machine illustrated in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is'an enlargedend elevation of the right hand end-of the machine with certain parts broken away to showthe driving mechanism;

Fig. 4 is .an enlarged plansectional --view taken on theline IV-IV in Fig. 3; g I

Fig.5 is a sectional view through the gear housing taken substantially on the plane of the line VV inFig. 4;

- Fig. 6 is a detail plan sectional viewof the driving. mechanism taken substantially on the plane of the line VI--VI in Fig. 3;

Fig. 7 is a detail sectional view taken on plane of the line V'IIVII in Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a detail sectional view of the manual and automatic disengaging mechanism taken substantially on the plane of the line VIII-VIII in Fig. 4

Fig. 9 is an enlarged fragmental end elevation of the gear housing with certain parts broken away to show the manual and automatic disengaging means;

Fig. 10 is a detail sectional view showing the control handle and index plate; a

Fig. 11 is afront View of the gear housing certain parts being broken away to show the conthe Fig. 12 is a front view of the gear housing illustrated in Fig. 11 showing the control handle and index plate;

Fig. 13 is a detail sectional view taken on the line XIII IC[II of Fig. 12;

Fig. 14 is a rear elevation of the ironer roll and gear housing; and

Fig. 15 is a detail sectional view of the control handle and. index plate illustrated in Figs. 9 and as the machinestops. and means for automati- 10 but ina changed position.

The ironing machine here illustrated comprises in general an ironer roll 2 supported at one end by a standard or frame 3 upon a cabinet 4 and having a motor l to supply the power necessary to operate the various mechanisms. An ironing shoe is supported upon a standard 6 mounted upon the cabinet 4 and is movable into engagement with the ironer roll 2. Whereas controls for controlling the operation of the machine are illustrated and will be described in conjunction with the parts controlled, the control switches for the motor itself and for the heating elements have not been illustrated, but may be assumed to be the standard devices usually employed for such purposes.

The shaft of the motor In may be coupled through any suitable coupling mechanism with a vertically mounted shaft II which finds bearing in a bearing member |2 carried on the housing 9. Th upper end of the shaft l carries a worm l3 which at its upper end is journaled in a bearing 4 carried in a boss or projection |5 formed integral with or otherwise secured to the housing 9. The worm l3 engages and drives a worm gear l6 which is rotatably mounted upon a shaft I! which at one end is carried in a bracket [8 secured to the housing member 9 and which at its other end is secured by a reduced portion l9 within a boss 2| on the housing 9. The shaft I! is provided with an enlarged portion 22 which provides suificient strength for it to act as a journal for a pinion 23 which is rotatably mounted thereon. The end of the pinion adjacent to the worm gear I6 is provided with a clutch member 24 adapted to be engaged with and to be disengaged from a clutch member 25 formed integral with or otherwise secured to the worm gear l6. A clutch operating member receiving groove 26 is provided between the teeth of the pinion 2 3 and the clutch member 24 for engagement of a forked clutch control member or arm 21 which, as will be described hereinafter, serves to shift the pinion longitudinally of the enlarged portion 22 of the shaft IT, in order to engage or disengage the clutch parts 24 and 25.

A member 28 formed with gear teeth 29 meshed with the teeth of the pinion 23 at one end and having an eccentric or cam 3| at its other end is rotatably mounted between hardened plates 32 and 33 on a stub shaft 34 secured in a boss 35 on the housing 9. An eccentric strap 36 surrounds the eccentric or cam 3| and forms part of a connecting rod 31 which is connected to a rocker arm 39 at its opposite end by means of a pivot pin 38.

The rocker arm 39 is pivotally mounted upon a stub shaft 4| secured in a boss 42 formed on the housing 9 and includes a segmental gear 43 formed integral therewith and adapted to mesh with a pinion 44. The pinion 44 carries a bushing 45 rotatably mounted upon a reduced end of a shaft 46 and is also rotatably mounted in a bushing 41 carried by a boss 48 on the housing 9. A cap 49 may be used to close the end of the boss 48 to form a seal for the bearing. The opposite end of the shaft 46 is rotatably supported in a bushing 5| secured to a bracket 52. This end of the shaft also carries a sprocket 53 which is secured thereto as by a set screw 56.

Spaced from the bushing 5| by a thrust collar 51 which is pinned on th shaft by means of a pin 54, is a pinion 58 which is freely rotatable on the shaft 46. Between the pinions 44 and 58 is a clutch collar 59 which is splined to the shaft 46 by a plurality of splines 6| and which at one end is slotted as at 62 for clutching engagement with pins 63 rigidly secured in pinion 58. The opposite end of the clutch collar 59 is provided with a number of slots 64 adapted to engage with corresponding teeth 65 formed in the inner end of pinion 44. The splined portion of the shaft 46 is enlarged to provide a shoulder to position the pinion 58. The clutch collar 59 has an annular groove 66 within which a clutch shifter block 61 is disposed, the shifter block being pivotally mounted upon a pin 68 ecentrically secured to a flange stub shaft 69 rotatably mounted in a bracket 13 integral with a front plate H which is in turn supported by cap screws 10 threaded into the housing 9.

A pinion I4 is mounted on the stub shaft 69 between the front plate H and the bracket 13 and is secured thereon in any desirable manner.

A segmental gear 15 having an integral arm portion 11 is mounted upon a pivot pin 16 affixedly secured to the front plate H in such a manner that the segmental gear 15 mesheswith the pinion 14. A connecting link 18 is carried by the pivot pins 19 and serves to transmit movement from the control crank mounted upon the control shaft 8| to the arm 71 carried by-th'e segmental gear 15 and thence to the pinion 14 in such a manner as to rotate the stub shaft 69, move the shifter block 6'! and thus control the engagement or disengagement of the clutchcol lar 59. It will be seen that movement of the control crank 80 in one direction will operate the segmental gear 15 and cause rotation of the pinion 14, which in turn Will shift the clutch collar 59 longitudinally of the shaft 46 to engage the pinion 44 or pinion 58 depending upon which connection is desired and thedirection in which the control shaft 8| is moved. A spring pressed ball detent 82 is mounted in a drilled opening 83 in the front plate H and is adapted to' engage notches 84 on the segmental gear 15 in s-uclia manner as to maintain the gear 15 many posi tion at which it may be set.

Between the rocker arm 39 and the internal end of the stub shaft 4| is a pinion 85 which is rotatably mounted on this shaft and held in place thereon by a thrust Washer 86 in turn held in place by a cotter pin 81. The pinion gear 85 is arranged at all'times to mesh with pinions 23 and 58, and the gear 29 likewise at all times is in mesh with pinion 23 regardless of whether the clutch members 24 and 25 are engaged or not.

When the motor is in operation driving the worm gear I 6, and the clutch members 24 and25 are engaged, the gears 23, 29, 43, 44, 58 and 85 will be in motion, although the shaft'46 may be motionless if the clutch collar 59 should be in a neutral position. If the clutch collar'59' be shifted to connect the shaft 46 with the pinion 44, the shaft 46 will be rocked back and forth, whereas, if the collar 59 be shifted to connect the shaft to the pinion 58, the shaft 46 will be rotated. The roll support 3 is of a cantilever form and is more clearly illustrated in Fig. 3. Intermediate of its length is a shaft 88 which carries a large sprocket 89 and a smaller sprocket 90. A chain 9| is trained over sprockets 53 and89 and a chain 92 is trained over the other sprocket 99 on the shaft 88 and over the sprocket ,93which is connected with the roll 2 for driving the same. The arrangement is such that the r0112 may be rotated in the direction of the arrow shown in Fig. 3 or may be oscillated. The bottorn'of the housing 9 is formed to provide anoil sump within the depression 94 in which a small idler manner.

shaft I1 and is arranged to be rotated between the position in which it is illustrated in Figs. 3

'and l' and a position 189 degrees removed therefrom. The inner end of the element 98 is provided with two transverse slots 99 and IN, which aresubstantially at right angles to one another. Within the slot 99 and pivotally mounted upon "a reduced hub portion II9 of the member 98 is a latch operating member I92 having oppositely directed fingers I93 and normally urged in a counter-clockwise direction about the hub portion-,IiI9, viewing Fig. 'l, by a tension spring I95 affixed between a post I96 on one of the fingers I93 and a post I91 carried by the element 98.

Within the slot I9I and slidably mounted therein is'aslide plate I98 which is slotted as at I 99 to receive the pin I94 carried by the latch operating member I93. The plate I98 has an elliptical slot III through which theshaft I1 and the hub II9 freely pass and which is provided with ,a latch plate, H2 at one end, the latch plate II2 being rigidly secured thereto in any convenient The latch plate II2 has a tooth II3 adapted to bereceived in any one of a series of lconforming depressions or notches H4 in a disk v II5 secured to worm gear I9 for rotation therewith. The plate I98 retains the member I92 in its position and its slot 99, while the plate I98 in turn is secured in its position by cap screws H6.

A dog III carried by the lever II8 pivoted on the pin II 9 is normally in the position shown in Fig. '7 where it serves to engage one of the fingers I93 and thus maintain the latch tooth H3 in inoperative position. This dog 1 will be released from the finger I93 when the lever II8 is moved about its pivot in the direction of arrow shown in Fig, '7, whereupon the spring I95 will swing the member I92 about its pivot to the opposite side of slot 99 from the position from which it is shown in Fig. 7, thereby causing the pin I94 to move the slide plate I98 to the left,

'and engaging the tooth II3 with one of the recesses l I4 in the disk H5. The element 98 will then'proceed to rotate with the gear I8 if this i gear is being-rotated.

I The lever H8 is arranged to be operated through certain connections including a pullrod I2I-and crank arm I22 secured on one end of a stub" shaft I23 rotatably mounted in a boss I24 .on' the front plate II; a crank arm I25 secured on the opposite end of shaft I23; and a pull rod (I26 and l'ever I21 pivoted upon the cabinet 4 'and pivotally connected to the pull rod I28 as at I 29. In order to limit the movement of cranks I22 and I25fand thus the extent of movement of lever II8, the crank I25 is continued beyond the pivotal connection of the pull rod I26 where it is forked to provide projections I29 both of which are arranged to engage a stop I39 formed on the front plate II. The lever I2'I is arranged tolbe operated by the knee of the machine operator. It is intended that the lever I21 should be pushed by the operator only momentarily and ionlyilong enough to release the dog II'Iv from behind the tooth I93, whereupon thecontrol should be immediately released so that the dog I" is free to engage a succeeding finger I93, having been returned to its original position immediately by the action of the tension spring I28 which may be secured between the lever I I8 and a portion of the bracket 52. Thus when the element 98 has rotated 189,the succeeding finger I93 will engage the dog In and through the medium of the pin I94 engaged with the walls of theslot I99 will move'the tooth I I3 out of engagement with the disk II5 and the element 98 will come to rest, I

The outer end of element 98 is formed with an eccentric I3I about which an eccentric strap I32 is secured. At the high point of the eccentric and inwardly therefrom a cam surface I33 is formed, the purpose of which will shortly appear. The eccentric strap I32 may be formed integrally with a housing I34 for a spring I35, one end of which spring is arranged to abut against the tongues I36, struck from the housing I34. The rivet I31 may serve to hold the housing sides in position as well as toretain the end of the spring I35 in position. The opposite end of spring I35 bears against the pin I38 rigidly secured through and to the arms I39 of a forked crank member I4I, fixed to a rock shaft I42 rotatably mounted in bearings I43 carried by a boss I44 on the housing 9. The rock shaft I42 extends out of the housing 9 and is journaled at its opposite end in a bearing I45 carried by a partition I48 111 the rock shaft housing I49. A crank arm I59 is secured to this end of the rock shaft I42 and carries a connectinglink I41 secured to the crank arm I59 by means of a pivot pin I48 The link I41 serves to connect the crank arm I59 toa swinging iron shoe supporting arm I49 pivotally mounted on the standard 6 by means of the pin I5I. To'this end the upper end of the link H1 is mounted on the cross pin I52 in such a manner that any counter-clockwise movement of the rock shaft I42 will j'operate through the crank I59 and the link I41 to rock the arm I49 about its pivot pin I5I and thus move the ironing shoe 5 into operative engagement with the ironing roll 2. The ironingshoe 5 is pivotally connected to the arm I49 by means of a pivot I53 in such a manner that the ironing shoe 5 may readily adjust itself and assume a proper position upon the roll 2.

In the operation of the ironing shoe actuating mechanism, ,just described, it will be apparent that when the operator moves the control lever I21 motion will be transmitted through the rod I29, crank I25, shaft I23, crank I22, rod I2I and lever. II8 to the dog I I'I. As hereinbei'ore described, the movement of this dog I U will release one. of .the fingersl93, engage the tooth H3 in one of the notches H4 in the element H5 and thus cause the. element 98 to begin to rotate. This rotation will continue for of movement atwhich time the dog 1 will engage the opposite finger I93, disengage the tooth H3 and thus 'stop the rotation of the element 98. At this time the eccentric I3I will have moved to its opposite position andwithdr awn'eccentric strap I32 and spring housing I34-from the position illustrated in Fig. 3. This movement will beefiective to allow the pin I38 to'move to the left, as viewed in. Fig. 3, thereby rocking the rock shaft I42 and crank I59, and allowing the link I41 to move upwardly under the tension of the spring I54 until the adjustable stop member I55, which is secured to the link I 41, contacts a lug I58 cast within the standard-6; The force exerted by the spring I54 will, of course, be transmitted through the pin I52 to the arm I49 which will be caused to pivot about the pin I51 and raise the ironing shoe away from the roll 2 in order to permit the removal of any garmentsbeing ironed, or the insertion of other garments between the roll 2 and the ironing shoe 5. In this connection it should be pointed out that the operation of the ironing roll 2 and of the ironingshoe 5 must be properly synchronized in such a manner that when the garment is placed upon the roll 2 and the control I2'I is actuated, the roll 2 begins to rotate an instant before the ironing shoe 5 is moved into contact therewith, in order to prevent any possibility of scorching the fabric covering of the roll 2. In the same manner it is desirable that when the machine comes to the stop the ironing shoe 5 is withdrawn from contact with the roll 2 an instant before the roll 2 ceases its rotary movement.

In the present device this synchronization is accomplished by automatically disengaging the clutch elements 24 and 25 whenever theeccentric I3I carried on the element 98 moves into position to release the ironing shoe 5 from the roll 2 and by automatically engaging the clutch elements 24 and 25 at all times when the eccentric I3I operates to force the ironing shoe 5 and roll 2 into engagement. To accomplish this an arm I58 is mounted between a flange I59 and a sleeve 26I carried by a slidable shaft 262 mounted in a boss 263 of the housing 9 and urged outwardly therefrom by means of a compression spring 264.

The clutch shifting arm 21 is locked to this slidable shaft 262 by means of the nut 265, and as hereinbefore described, this arm 21 rides in the slot 26 of the pinion 23 and is operative to slide the pinion 23 longitudinally of the shaft I! in accordance with the movement of the slidable shaft 262. It will thus be seen that when the element 98 is released by the actuation of the control 21 and moves 180 from the position in which it is illustrated in the drawings the cam surface I33 will contact the arm I58 carried by a slidable shaft 262 and cause the shaft 262 to move inwardly in its bearings in the plate 52 and boss 263 against the action of the compression spring 264. The arm 21 will at this time shift the pinion 23 along the shaft I1 and allow the clutch elements 24 affixed thereto to disengage from the clutch elements 25 carried by the worm gear I6, thus disengaging the driving connection to the roll 2 simultaneously with the operation of withdrawing the ironer shoe 5 from the roll. It will be noted that this operation takes place in identically the same manner whether the clutch collar 59 is engaged with the pinion 44 or with the pinion 58.

When using an ironer of this type, it is highly desirable that when the machine is stopped and the ironing shoe is disengaged the ironer roll be free to rotate in such a manner that the operator may manually rotate the roll and thus advanc a garment carried upon the roll further into engagement with the ironing shoe 5. This may be easily done when the clutch collar 59 is engaged with the pinion 58, since in this event theroll driving mechanism is completely reversible and when the roll is manually rotated its motion will be transmitted through the chains 93 and 9I to the shaft 6| and thence through the pinions 58 and 85 to the pinion 23. Since when the clutch elements 24 and 25 are disengaged the pinion 23 is free to rotate upon the shaft I1, it will be clear that there will be nothing within the mechanism to resist the manual movement of the ironer roll 2.

In contrast'to this it will be seen that the mechanism for oscillating the ironer roll 2 is irreversible, that is to say, it cannot be made to run backwardtly and, therefore, characteristics inherent in the oscillating mechanism will act to prevent manual movement of the roll 2 even when the clutch elements 24 and. 25 are disengaged. This is for the reason that when the clutch collar 59 is in engagement with the pinion 44 any movement transmitted from the roll 2 to the shaft 46 will be transmitted through the segmental gear 43 to the arm 39 and thence to th connecting rod 36 operating upon the eccentric 3|. Any attempt to rotate the roll, therefore, can only be effective to move the eccentrie 3| until it assumes its dead center position and thus locks the roll against manual rotation either forward or back.

The mechanism so far described is not new in the present application, having been disclosed and claimed in my co-pending application Serial No. 131,940,1iled March 19, 1937, now Patent No. 2,115,941, issued May 3, 1938, but it is believed both necessary and desirable to show and describe the old structure in order to illustrate the need for and environment of the roll release mechanism to be hereinafter described.

When the driving mechanism is in its locked position it may be released by moving the selector lever I6I, carried by the control shaft 8I intoits vertical or neutral position. This motion will be transmitted through the shaft 8|, crank 86, the link 18 and the arm 11 to the segmental gear I5 which will rotate the pinion I4 to the position shown in Fig. 8. In so doing the shifter block 61 will move the clutch collar 59 to a neutral position, such that the teeth 64 and 65 have disengaged without engaging the teeth 62 and 63. The shaft 46 is now free to rotate and since any manual force exerted on roll 2 will be transmitted to the shaft 46 by means of the chains 9I and 92, it will be clear that the roll 2 has been released from the locking effect of the eccentric 3| and may be moved backward or forward at the will of the operator.

The mechanism thus far described is, therefore, effective to release th roll, but for purposes of practical operation it is desirable that this releasing movement shall be automatically accomplished whenever the machine stops and the ironing shoe 5 disengages the roll 2, and that the driving mechanism be reengaged as the machine resumes rotation and the ironing shoe 5 again moves into engagement with the roll. To this end an index plate I62 is provided, having a sleeve I63 mounted in the boss I64 in the housing 9 and having a drilled opening I65 to accommodate the control shaft 81. A lug I66 is carried by the index plate I62 and is adapted to engage a notch I61 in the selector lever I6I. The selector lever I H is pivotally mounted on the control shaft 8I by means of a. pin I68. It will be seen that moving the selector lever I6I into the position shown in Figs. 9 and 13 will cause the lug I66 to engage the notch I61 in the selector lever I6I and thereby lock the selector lever I6I to the index plate I62. However, the selector lever I6I may be pivoted to the position shown in Fig. 15 in which case the lug I66 and notch I61 will disengage and the index plate I62 may then oscillate independently of the manually movable selector lever I6I.

A tooth IH is provided on the sleeve I63 and engagesa notchflionasleeve I13 journalecl infth-boss164 and carrying the crank I10. A link-I14 is pivotallyconnected to the crank I by mean of'th rivet I15-and extends downweirdly to" a rivet I16 carried by alever I18"piv-' otal'ly-imoun ted on the stud 16,- hereinbefore described; A ball I19 is mounted on a flange I8I carrie'djby the lever I18 and is adapted .to en- 596. a drilled opening I82 in the boss I83 carriedby, the bell crank I84. The bell crank I84 is carried by and freely rotatable on the sprocket shaft 46 and is'retained thereon-by a collar' I85 locked'lto' the shaft 46 bymeans of a set screw .186. "The opposite arm I81 of the bell crank I84 i's' 'p'e rfor'a' .ted at I88 to receive a tie-rod I89 mounted ori'the'eccentric strap I33 and secured thereto by means of a cotter pin I33. Washers I 9 I and a'compensating spring I92 are carried by the tie-rod I89 and are secured in position thereonby means of cotter pins I93 and I94..

the machine is being operated and the S11Qe5 is engaging the roll 2, the parts will be in the, position shown in Figs 3 and 9. .I-Iowever, when the operator actuates the knee control" I21, the eccentric I3I will rotate through 180 615 movement and move the eccentric strap I 32 toward the left (as viewed in Fig. 3) in ordel todisengage the ironing shoe 5 from the roll aiid 'stop the machine as hereinbei'ore described. At 'thi's' time thetie-rod: I89 will be movedto theleft whereupon the cotter pin I93 and the washer I9I will engage the arm I81 of the bell crank I84 and rotate the crank I84 in a clockwise direction, moving the ball I19 and lever I18 upwardly and transmitting this upward movement through the link I14 and crank I65 to the sleeve I13. Since the sleeves I13 and IE3 are locked together by the tooth and notch connection I1I, I12, the index plate I62 will be caused to rotate ina clockwise direction (as viewed in Fig: "'-l2). If the lug I66 carried by the index plate I62--is in engagement with the notch I61 in the selector lever I 6I, the selector lever will be moved from the dotted line position I6I to thefull line position, as shown in Fig. 12. As hereiribefore described, this movement will be effective to move the clutch collar 59 to its neutral position, thus disengaging the teeth 64 from thexzteeth 65 and releasing theflroll' 2 for free manual movements. .j. v

7 As. the operator again actuates the knee con-. ill-T011121. to start the machine, the eccentric. I3I will again rotate and move the eccentric strap I32 to the right (as viewed in Fig. 3) thus causing the ironing shoe 5 to'move intoengagement with,.the

roll-"2. At this time the tie-rod I89 will be. carried tothe right and will rotate the bell crank I84 ina-counter-clockwise direction. This motion wilL'of course, be transmitted through the link: age just described to the index plate I62, causing the index plate to return to its original position, as shown in dotted lines at I62 on Fig. 12, and since the index plate I62 and the selector lever I6I are locked together by means of the lug I66 and notch I61, the lever I6I will be returned to the position i61 as shown in Fig. 12. This action will move the teeth 64 of the clutch collar 59 into engagement with the teeth 65 carried by the pinion 44 and re-establish the driving connection between the eccentric 3| and the ironing roll 2. If the teeth 64 and 65 are not in their proper meshing relationship when the clutch collar 59 moves into engagement with the pinion 44, the movement of the tie rod I89 will be only effective to compress the compensating spring I92 until such time as the teeth- 64 shall move into mesh! ing relatiosnhip withthe teeth 6 5, whereupon the energy stored in the compensatingfspring I-92 willact to move the bell crank I84 and theother related'parts. 7 v

From the above it will be clear that when the selector lever I6I has been movedto a position I6I in order to provide an oscillating driv'efor the ironing roll' 2, the automatic control linkage will" be effectivev to return the selector I6I to its neutral position and thus release theroll 2 at any and all times when the machine is idle'a'nd the shoe 5 is not in engagement with the roll 2, and to return the selector IN to its operative position I6 I a and reestablish the driving connection when-. ever the clutch teeth 24 reengage the clutch teeth When it is desired to move the selector lever I6 I from the oscillating position to the continuous rotating'position, the selector I6I may be pivoted about the pivot I68 in such a manner that the i tooth 62.

lug I66 and notch I 61 disengage. The selector I6I may then be moved to the dotted line position Hil as shown in Fig. 12. This movement will be transmitted through the control shaft 8I to crank 80, the link 18 and the arm 11 to the segmental gear 15, which will in turn drive the pinion 14 and move the shifter block 61, in such a manner that the clutch collar 59 will move toward the pinion 58 and engage the pins 63 by means of the The roll 2 will now be driven by 'direct gear drive and since this drive is fully re- Vers'ible, there is no necessity of operating the automatic roll release mechanism, for the reason" that while any manual movement of the roll 2 will be transmitted downwardly through the chains '92 and 9|, the shaft 46, and the gears 58, 85, and 29, all of these parts rotate freely and will therefore offer no appreciable resistance to the manual movement of the roll 2. It should be appreciated, however, that while the gear drive design of the movement, from friction, or from other causes.

While I have shown and'described'what is at present a preferred embodiment of the invention, I am aware that it is subject to numerous modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, and I therefore do not wish to be limited except as by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In an ironing machine, a pair of relatively movable ironing elements comprising a rotatable roll and shoe, a motor for rotating said roll and relatively moving said roll and shoe into 00- operating engagement, a clutch for disengaging said motor from said rotatable roll, a power transmission including an eccentric between said clutch and said rotatable roll, and means for disengaging the rotatable roll from the said power transmission whereby said rotatable roll may be free for manual movement.

2. In an ironing machine, a relatively movable ironing roll and shoe, a motor adapted to drive said roll and to urge said roll and shoe into cooperating engagement, a primary disengaging clutch for said motor, an irreversible mechanical movement intermediate said primary clutch and said ironer roll, a secondary clutch intermediate said irreversible mechanical movement and said ironer roll, and automatic control means for said secondary clutch. v

3. The combination, with a power transmission for mechanical ironers, of an eccentric, a primary clutch between said eccentric and a driving motor, a secondary clutch between said eccentric and an ironing roll, and mechanical means for simultaneously operating said primary and secondary clutches.

4. In an ironing machine the combination, with a power transmission including an oscillating mechanism adapted to convert rotary movement to oscillatory movement, of a driving motor; a primary clutch between said transmission and said driving motor, manually actuated clutch control means for said primary clutch, a secondary clutch between said transmission and an ironing roll, manually actuated control means for said secondary clutch, and mechanical means for simultaneously operating said primary and secondary clutches.

5. A driving mechanism for ironers and the like including a motor; a rotatable ironing roll, a power transmission including an eccentric, means for intermittently driving said power transmission and an automatic auxiliary clutch efiective to engage said driven ironing element with said power transmission when the transmission is being driven and to disengage the ironing roll from the transmission when the transmission is idle.

6. In an ironing machine, an ironing r011, an oscillating mechanism for said roll whereby said roll may be moved in to-and-fro partial rotations, a driving motor for said oscillating mecha- A,

lating mechanism, a secondary clutch intermediate said ironing bed and the oscillating mechanical movement whereby said ironing roll may be released from mechanical connection with said oscillating mechanism and relieved of mechanical resistance inherent in said oscillating mechanism, and automatic control means for said secondary clutch.

8. In an ironing machine, an ironer. roll, a. power transmission including an oscillating mechanism for moving said roll in to-and-iro partial rotations, intermittent driving means for said transmission, clutch means intermediate said ironer roll and said power transmission, and control means for said clutch, said control means being responsive to the movement of the power transmission to release said roll from mechanical resistance to movement caused by said transmission, and permit free manual movement.

9. In an ironing machine, an ironer roll; a. cooperating ironing shoe; a motor; a clutch; manual control means for said clutch; rotary P wer transmission means adapted to be driven by said motor and to impart rotary movement to said ironer roll at certain times during the operation of the machine; oscillatory power transmission means adapted to be driven by said motor and to impart successive to-and-fro partial rotations to said ironer roll at certain times during the operation of the machine; a. selector clutch whereby driving connection may alternately be established between either of said power transmission mechanism and said ironer roll to impart either constant rotary movement or oscillatory movement to said ironer roll; and means responsive to the operation of aforementioned manual clutch control means to move said selector clutch to a neutral position such that said ironer roll will be disengaged from mechanical connection with either of said power transmission mechanisms, and free from manual rotation.

10-. In an ironing machine. an ironing roll. on ironing shoe. cooperatively associated with said roll, roll operating mechanism for rotating said r011 continuously in one. direction or for eflcctinz successive to-and fro partial rotations of the roll while said roll and shoe are. maintained in given position with respect to, each other, a selective control for efiecting either said continuous rotation or said to-and-fro partial rotationa. and means for automatically disengaging said roll fromsaid roll operating mechanism whereby said roll may be free for manual movementdurinz the idle. periods of the machine.

11. In an ironing machine; the combination, with a feeding and presser rolland cooperatively mounted ironing shoe, of pressure mechanism for moving said roll and shoe into cooperative engagement and releasing said roll and shoe from engagement; driving mechanism for rotating the roll continuously in one. direction or in to-andfro. partial rotations, and automatic clutch means responsive to the operation of said pressure mechanism for disengaging said roll from said driving mechanism whereby said roll may be free for manual movement during the idle periods or the machine.

" JOHN A. CASTRICONE 

